Headstand – The King of Asanas

Sirsasana is not called the king of asanas without any reason. There are a host of physical, physiological, mental & spiritual benefits you derive from practicing headstand. As it’s a pose against gravity, it gives us a lot of confidence of overcoming fear of falling.

Try and cultivate the attitudes of vairagya (detachment) – of letting go of the fears, ego, surrendering ourselves, humility; and aishwarya (self-esteem, self-confidence, sense of achievement) would follow. The benefits of this asana would accrue more at the physical & mental level if practiced with utmost dedication & concentration. For eg when you try to let go of the fear of falling, it translates into your life by giving you the confidence to accept greater challenges. Believe me, it does happen!!! It also gives tremendous satisfaction with your own being.

There is a line of perfect alignment in headstand with which if you stay gives you a feeling of lightness. And that is what you should aim for. I try to do headstands regularly for about 3 minutes followed by child’s pose for a minute. And I don’t know whether its because of that but my hair, skin quality has improved; so has my memory & sharpness of the mind. There are many variations which you can do of this pose & which I’ll blog on subsequently.

Note: Headstand is an intermediate / advance pose (depending on the variations) & to be strictly done under the guidance of an experienced teacher.

For more on this refer to: Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (Bihar School), The Sivananda Companion to Yoga, Light on Yoga (BKS Iyengar), Yoga Journal.

Squat - A variation

This is a nice variation of the regular squat and can be added to your practice as an individual asana or part of the suryanamaskar sequence. It not only strengthens the quadriceps (thigh muscles) but also gives a good twist and a squeeze to the spine. Try and twist more using the elbow to push your chest out more. People with knee problems ought to be careful!! In this picture because of lack of awareness one of my knees is slightly out, but maintain both at the same level. Hold it till you are comfortable with your discomfort :-) Add spice to your practice & have fun. Ciao.....

Don't go after the exotic!!!

Kiwis, Australian apples, flax seeds, hazelnuts, pecans, and many other expensive, exotic foods procured from global markets are the 'in' thing of today. But i strongly feel that there is no need to take food to this extent.

Food should be seasonal, fresh and local. That is power food and will supply you with the nutrients your body requires staying in that surroundings that you are. The advantages of eating locally are:

• It is less expensive. (one kg of cauliflower costs Rs 40 as against Rs 120 for a kg of broccoli)


• It caters to the rhythms of our body which changes according to seasons. For eg spinach is fresh, healthy & less worm-infested


• It provides nutrients needed for us in that particular season and also boosts immunity. For eg karelas (bitter gourd) available in monsoon protects us from many monsoon related illnesses


• You leave behind a smaller carbon footprint (think of how many miles your food has travelled the next time you sit to eat. The farther it has the more has been the use of already depleting world resources)


• There is always a question of freshness, aliveness in a food eaten fresh from farm and 'fresh' from cold storage.


• We have an incredible variety to chose from every season!!!

You can also refer to this article about seasonal foods and their benefits.

So eat in season for a reason. Eat local, think global. And be healthy.

Health Tip

Don't throw away the vegetable pulp after making juice. Use it in your rotis. The leftover pulp can also be used with a few drops of lemon and a pinch of haldi to scrub your body. Works better than soap and leaves your skin supple.

Mandukasana - Frog Pose

It's an anti-flatus, constipation relieving pose, very good for elimination. One of the favourite asanas of Swami Ramdev, and rightly so.

Start with sitting in Vajrasana (legs folded, toes out); make fists of both palms with the thumb inside, put them on either side of the navel; inhaling straighten your spine up; exhaling bend forward completely and then slightly lift the chin up for better compression. The wrists have to remain upright when you bend forward and not flatten out. Breathe normally as you stay here for sometime starting with 20 seconds and slowly building up to 3 minutes.

The place where you put the fists are the ascending and descending colon. By putting pressure you are stimulating the process of elimination. You can do this asana early in the morning to get maximum benefit. People who are suffering from any kind of abdominal ailment like ulcers, colitis etc. should attempt this only after they are relieved of that. Proper elimination is the key to better digestion. So keep practising!!

Truth about Coffee

I know most of us (m glad i m not one of most) love a cup of nicely brewed coffee, so this might come as a rude shock to some. On top of that, now you have all the exotic varieties of coffee (Jamaican, Brazilian, Irish etc) available which makes coffee even more irresistible.

Coffee is a cash crop (yes that's right, it's grown for profits). 1% of all international trade is in coffee. It is the fruit of semitropical evergreen which bears flower. its fruit is called "cherry" and the bean inside the cherry is used to make coffee.

• It is a combination of niacin, vitamins, minerals, caffeine and tannic acid.
• The primary ingredient of coffee is of course caffeine which acts as a stimulant. Coffee also contains other stimulants like trigonellin (an element in nicotine) and other aromatic oils & acids. Decaffeinated coffee is probably more harmful as it involves soaking the beans in a toxic chlorinated solvent.
• The tannic acid in coffee is excellent for tanning leather and also cleanses dirty, greasy kitchen floors, stainless steel tables etc.
• The favorite food for the rats is the coffee bean. When instant coffee is manufactured – hundreds of rats get crushed along with the bean.
• The action of caffeine is also well documented. Caffeine increases blood pressure, pulse rate and the speed of respiration. The liver releases stored glycogen as glucose which raises the blood sugar level, giving a sense of high energy and suppressing appetite. All the organs are activated including the kidney bladder and the peristalsis of the colon. But when the blood sugar returns to normal more often it drops below normal – the person becomes tired, jittery, depressed, and is unable to concentrate – the solution – yet another cup of coffee.
• Caffeine toxicity weakens the organs. A habitual coffee drinker can expect physical and psychological withdrawal symptoms like headaches, hot flashes, palpitations of the heart, constipation, extreme fatigue, depression, radical fluctuations of mood and inability to concentrate.
• Coffee is a powerful physical and mental stimulant that increases thirst and deprives the body of nutrients. It can be called inexpensive, easily obtainable, socially acceptable and a potentially addictive drug.Caffeine also enhances the effects of stress. For more read a study conducted by researchers on this link.
• Regular consumption of coffee can also lead to chronic acidity and constipation. According to many health schools, constipation is the root cause of many ailments. And i better stay away from the complications that may arise out of these lest you all fall asleep :-)
• Coffee also kills appetite

Well, i am not asking you to stop having coffee. But the least you can do is to be aware and reduce its intake and NOT be dependent on it. BTW whenever you have, just put your mind aside and enjoy!!!

Adopted from resources at the Health Awareness Centre

What is Nutrition?

Nutrition is not a play of numbers, components, measures etc. It is much more holistic and simpler. NUTRITION IS:

Meditation, Physical Activity, Relaxation, Food,


Sleep, Healthy Mind, Fresh Air, Sunlight,



Healthy Routines, Recreation, Environment, Hygiene

We can hope to live & die healthy only if we can cater to at least a few (half according to my view point) all the time. We have to assess our lives and see where we stand. Dwelling in big cities, giving much importance to the material; most of us compromise on many aspects. For eg living in Mumbai I can say that we don’t get proper sunlight as we are packed away in air-conditioned offices; can’t even think of fresh air; mental poise too goes for a toss; there is no question of non-deprivation of relaxation, sleep, physical activity and meditation. We feel that we are spend enough on movies, eating out, partying which we call recreation but that is only entertainment. Recreation is when you are physically and mentally involved in something creative which peps you up for work later. Learning music, painting, dancing etc falls under this category. Watching TV, SO DOES NOT!!! We do take care of our external hygiene but what about the waste stored in our bodies? That leaves us with just one choice. To concentrate more on food and improving other aspects as best as we can.

I would like to go into detail of each & every factor responsible for nutrition but for today it is just enough to get the point across.

The effect of such nutrition might not befall immediately and if you are lucky you may never have to face it. But that doesn’t mean we give up our fundamental right to live happily, healthily and die peacefully. What say??